In 279 BC, King Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated the Romans at the Battle of Asculum. In doing so he suffered such irreplaceable casualties that he is reported to have claimed that one other such victory would utterly undo him.

A bonus point victory against French left Quins sitting comfortably in fifth with a nice gap to sixth and just one point behind fourth.

However, the cost has been three players who won’t pull on the quarters again this season of which at least one has sadly been forced to retire completely.

The definition of a pyrrhic victory.

But first some context to this game so…

Previously on Quins Ams 2024/5

At the turning point in the season, Quins were one of a cohort of teams stuck close together in mid-table. In the main, we had beaten the teams below us in Counties 4 but come unstuck against the league’s big 3.

The calendar year ended with mixed fortunes – disappointingly conceding the game to Cranleigh and then going into the festive break with a morale-boosting win against Paulines in the first of the return fixtures.

Bad weather meant a postponement of the Dalrymple Derby rematch v Emanuel so we arrived in Barnes having not played a game in over a month.

Nevertheless, given that our home game against French had been a resounding 33-8 home win (against a team who arrived without a front row), there was an air of optimism. Plus, Povey’s recruitment drive over the break had produced a trio of new players.

Any thoughts of a repeat of the game at The Reeves were quickly dashed however. Not only had French brought a front row this time but they clearly knew what they were doing. The Quins scrum was slammed into reverse on multiple occasions and the French players were more than happy to contest a ruck.

We weren’t in Kansas any more.

We were able to wrest control of the game. Our defence was holding pretty firm whilst our big runners in the pack and centres were making dents in the French line. We barely left the French half for much of the first half.

While we pressured French relentlessly; only our own mistakes preventing us from that first score. Whether it was a dropped ball, a forward pass or a butchered overlap, Quins were their own worst enemies.

An 0-8 half-time scoreline could have been so much better with a little more composure.

The first half also saw two serious injuries. Firstly, Sean took a seemingly innocuous knock to his thumb in a ruck. Despite trying to manfully play on, by half time it was obvious from the huge swelling that it was something more serious. A confirmed break has Sean’s gone for the rest of this season. Heal well, buddy.

Always ready to carry hard, Robbie took the ball into contact and was dragged down. His knee took the weight of the impact and twisted the wrong way. A torn patella tendon is around a year out which sucks big time. Feel for you, Robs.

The second half began in much the same vein. The vast majority of the play was in French’s half but Quins’ errors kept us from scoring. When we held on to the ball though, we looked really good and scored some great tries.

Midway through the half, Quins enjoyed rare dominance in the set piece such that the scrum collapsed on our tighthead side. Our captain fell face first on to our second row’s knee and fractured his eye socket. It’s a freak accident that has unfortunately forced him to retire. Go well, Harry.

So, what can we take from this game?

We were definitely rusty. A month out from playing combined with a few new players meant that the team flow wasn’t quite were it needs to be. That will come.

Overall, defence won us that game. Although it was a really tough match, French enjoyed very few visits to our half; never mind the 22.

And we overcame a great deal of adversity. Losing three big players could have rocked us badly but we managed to keep ourselves together enough to get the win.

Lastly, if in doubt, give the ball to a Fijian

MoM: Kepa

Thanks to London French for the photos